The Algebraist
The Algebraist by Iain M. Banksby Iain M. Banks
Shares rank 80 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended as the best of Iain M. Banks's books, by readers who enjoy his writing style and fun, space-opera storytelling.
Recommended as the best of Iain M. Banks's books, by readers who enjoy his writing style and fun, space-opera storytelling.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Best Iain M. Banks book
“The Algebraist is the best Iain Banks”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain” Enjoy Banks's writing style
“As I like how Banks writes”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over” Fun, similar-itch reads
“they're all really fun and scratch a similar itch”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Algebraistby Iain M. BanksThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The Algebraist is the best Iain Banks”
“they're all really fun and scratch a similar itch”
“As I like how Banks writes”
“does a great job of covering that territory”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.